Mars Basing

Transportation options for getting humans to and from Mars are understood much better than are the Mars basing options themselves. Current crew mission designs do not yet integrate planetary exploration capabilities that match multiple, multi-year stays at Mars. However, a clear picture of Mars basing is needed for long-range program planning, and for effective public education. Connectivity and access are shown to be common threads for all potential human activity at Mars. Four distinct basing modes are proposed to bound the key possibilities, and investigated for their ability to attain realistic and productive access objectives. One promising implementation sequence is synthesized from the four. Mission performance criteria to test candidate planning options are proposed.